Get your voice-recording done with a high-quality unit in a quiet room with natural acousics (neither boxy nor echoey), unless there’s an overriding reason to the contrary (e.g. you’re working with an archive recording or in an inescapably noisy environment). As I’ve said here before, the best digital stories can work as radio pieces, so aim for top radio quality when you record. Written and first published by Gareth Morlais on 18 July 2008.
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Avoid fancy video effects – number 2 of 7 DS no-nos
Cuts or cross-fades are the video transitions I recommend, unless there’s a good story-related reason to use something else.
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Avoid pure linear reportage – number 1 of 7 DS no-nos
E.g. it’s tempting to tell the story of a trip chronologically thus weaker: “We started in Rome, took the train to Florence where we saw Ponte Vecchio, then we headed to the coast towards Pisa….” stronger: look at how well Simon Griffiths uses the device of how he funded his south American trip to make a great story even better.